So it’s almost November already!? Woah. Fall is in full swing, the days are getting much cooler, the leaves are falling, and that feeling of #stayinghome and being cozy is in full effect. Or as I like to call it, Hygge. My favourite time of year! We’re just a few weeks away from the clocks turning back and losing a lot of our sunlight. I always find this tough and know it will be even more so this Fall/Winter as the pandemic is still in full force and we’re all home much more often.

Speaking of being home, let’s talk about our cozy little spaces. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that our little fam lives in a small townhouse in Toronto. We’ve chosen a small space to be able to stay living in the city (which we love so very much)

We’ve got two floors, an awesome little patio, a great sized master bedroom, and a cute little den that is half Otis’ room and half desk (which thank goodness since we’re all working from home these days!)

Since our home is small (but oh so sweet) I like to change things up often. We don’t have a fireplace + mantle (although this is an ultimate dream of mine) so I like to change up little shelves and such with seasonal goodies to refresh the space.

Here are my favourite things to do to spruce up spaces + fall in love with them all over again:

• books! - Call me old fashioned but I love having actual books over an e-reader. I’ve always loved the smell, feel and look of a beautiful book and I keep my favourites and then give others to friends looking for a good book to read. They can be organized in such a beautiful way, by colour, theme, size, etc! I often change up stacks and am always happy with the outcome

• flowers + dried flowers! - I am the ultimate lover of flowers. Having fresh blooms at home honestly makes me so happy and is an instant mood booster. I especially love supporting local spots, and even making my own little bouquets and scattering them around our place. I’ve also recently been *realllllly* loving dried flowers. They look so nice in little jars and are the perfect little addition on any shelf or book stack, and lthey ast forever!

• candles! - Hygge is in full force when candles are around. I am guilty of having way too many candles, but honestly, we use them all the time! I always buy soy candles and do my best to purchase them from small businesses to support them best I can (esp right now) I love to put them out as decor, along with little matches, votives with tealights + of course my favourite, palo santo!

• trinkets! - Anyone who knows me knows that I love cute little knick knacks with a special story. Little jars, dishes, tins, decorations, christmassy things! I love using these to tell a story and often they are items that were given to us as gifts, that we picked up on our many travels, or are sweet vintage finds! This was kind of the vibe we went with for Otie’s room too!

• photos + prints! - I loveee a good print and we’ve got so many great ones. Mostly from local spots we love or places we’ve travelled to (I love when things in your home tell a story) I love to change up fun little frames with vintage photos, postcards, etc. I recently started doing this for seasons/holidays too which is fun!

• crystals + jewels! - Anyone have a secret (or not so secret love of crystals?) I personally love them and picking them up in cool shops or on our travels. Although I must admit I don’t always know when they mean, although I am learning! These are great decor accents and ways to change up a little space or #shelfie. Also, your jewelry! Necklaces, bracelets, rings + more can be really pretty and great to have on display!

• holiday decor! - I am sure you may have noticed that I loveee holidays (especially Christmas!) and love to decorate our home for holidays. Otis has a cute little shelf in his room and I have decorated it for a bunch of different holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Pride, Thanksgiving/Halloween) and it’s soooo fun to do. Our home also gets decorated but mostly during fall and Christmasssssssssss (can you tell I am excited )

I’ve really been inspired to clean, organize our space lately. When you’ve got such a small space, it’s something that needs to be done often in my opinion. It always feels nice to get rid of things, and more so be able to donate them to people who may be in need.

Happy Fall + hope you spend your weekend getting cozy and falling in love with your home.